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1994. Dance History: An Introduction by Janet Adshead-Lansdale and June Layson
1960. The Story of Dance by Arnold L. Haskell

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Adshead-Lansdale, Janet; and Layson, June. 'Dance History:An Introduction' published in 1994 by Routledge, hardback, 290pp, ISBN 0415090296. Sorry, sold out, but click to access prebuilt search for this title on Amazon UK
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  • Dance History: An Introduction [top]
    Written by Professor Janet Adshead-Lansdale and Professor June Layson
    First published in 1983 in Great Britain by Dance Books, London, as Dance History. A Methodology for Study, edited by Janet Adshead and June Layson
    Second Edition, revised and updated, published in 1994 in Great Britain by Routledge, 290pp, in hardback and paperback. Simultaneously published in the USA and Canada by Routledge.
    ISBN 0415090296 -hardback
    ISBN 041509030X -paperback

About the Authors: At the time of publication (1994), Professor Janet Adshead-Lansdale was Head of the Dance Department of the University of Surrey, a post previously held by Professor June Layson until retirement.
In 1992, Professor Layson was awarded the title of Emeritus Professor in acknowledgement of her contribution to the study of dance

About the Book: When it was originally published in 1983, the first edition of this title soon became a core student text for the subject of dance history. At the time of its revision and update in 1994, it still remained the only book to address the rationale, process and methodologies specific to the study of dance history.

For the main body of the text, which covers historical studies of dance in its traditional, social and theatrical contexts, the editors have brought together a team of internationally renowned dance historians. Roger Copeland and Deborah Jowitt each take a controversial look at the modern American dance; Kenneth Archer and Millicent Hodson explain the processes they go through when reconstructing "lost" ballets; and Theresa Buckland and Georgina Gore write about traditional dance in England and West Africa respectively. With other contributions on social dance, ballet, early European modern dance and feminist perspectives on dance history, the text offers a multitude of starting points for studying dance history as well as putting forward some of the finest examples of writing on the topic.

Chapters:

List of illustrators; Notes on Contributors; Preface; Acknowledgements

Part 1. A Rationale and Methodology for Dance History
1. Historical Perspectives in the study of dance by June Layson
2. Dance history source materials by June Layson
3. The Dance History Literature: A Reader's Guide by Janet Adshead-Lansdale

Part 2. Historical Studies of Dance in its Traditional, Social and Theatrical Contexts
4. Traditional Dance: English ceremonial and social forms by Theresa Buckland
5. Traditional Dance in West Africa by Georgiana Gore
6. Regional Evidence for Social Dance with particular reference to a Yorkshire Spa Town, Harrogate, UK by Patricia Mitchinson
7. Ballets Lost and Found: restoring the twentieth-century repertoire by Kenneth-Archer and Millicent Hodson
8. Enrico Cecchetti:the influence of tradition by Giannandrea Poesio
9. Rambert Dance Company Archive, London, UK by Jane Pritchard
10. European Early Modern Dance by Michael Huxley
11. Expression and expressionism in American modern dance by Deborah Jowitt
12. Beyond Expressionism:Merce Cunningham's critique of 'the natural' by Roger Copeland
13. Re-tracing our steps: the possibilities for feminist dance histories by Carol Brown

Part 3. Studying and Writing Dance History
14. Pathways to Studying Dance History by Janet Adshead-Lansdale
15. Writing Dance History by June Layson

Appendix A: Dance History Texts Annotated by Janet Adshead-Lansdale
Appendix B: Selected Lists of Reference Texts by Judith Chapman
Appendix C: Selected Lists of Periodicals by Judith Chapman



Other Books on Dance History:
Haskell, Arnold L. 'The Story of Dance' published in 1960 in Great Britain in hardback, 94pp, no ISBN. Condition: Fair or acceptable - the dustjacket is ripped and crinkled in several different places. There is a book token gift card stuck in the front of the book on the first page opposite the front cover. Price: £2.99, not including post and packing which is Amazon UK's standard charge (currently £2.80 for UK buyers, more for overseas customers
1960, Rathbone Books, hbk
In stock, click image above to buy for £2.99, not including post and packing, which is Amazon UK's standard charge of £2.80

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  • The Story of Dance [top]
    Written by Arnold L. Haskell; Designer Germano Facetti; Editor: David Lambert; Art: Patricia Lockie, Bruce Robertson, Perez Roman, and Peter Sullivan
    1st published in 1960 in Great Britain in hardback by Rathbone Books, 94pp, no ISBN

About this book/synopsis: Written by Arnold L. Haskell, Director of the Royal Ballet School, many dance books describe the technique of dancing and offer other "how-to" aids, but few ask and answer the really interesting questions about dance as this book does: What IS dancing? How did it begin? WHY do we dance? We all feel the need to dance, to jig about to a specially lively piece of music. Teenagers and city businessmen alike respond instinctively to rhythm, for our whole life is build around it - the rhythmic beating of our heart, the waxing and waning of life and emotions with the cycles of day and night and of the seasons. Hopscotch and prehistoric labyrinths, the slave trade and the Charleston, ballets and banquets all find a place in this survey. But they are not treated as mere anecdotes. They form a pattern which puts world dancing - from African tribal ceremony to rock 'n' roll in perspective in time as well as place. The first chapter explains how dance began, why different dances grew up throughout the world, and the three main reasons why people dance. In another chapter, the author explores ritual dancing, the oldest of all, still performed in forest backwaters untouched by the flow of civilization. A later chapter takes us from religious ritual to dancing as a way of building fitter minds and bodies. Mr. Haskell traces the evolution of dance from the time people danced in order to make things happen, to dancing as entertainment and a way of making friends. Today, many of us may enjoy rock 'n' roll. Others may favour classical music or classical ballet. The author reminds us that both are manifestations of an instinct as old as mankind itself. Dance fashions change, but "dancing does not age". More than 200 paintings and photographs taken from many nations and showing what dance was like centuries ago, bring the text to life, whilst diagrams explain native dances and ballerinas' pirhouettes

Contents:
What is Dance?
Miming for Magic
From Egypt to Athens
From Tibet to Tokyo
Heathen or Heavenly
Basse Danse and Bunny Hug
Banquets and Ballet
A Ballet is Born
Mambo and Musical

Illustrations:
Inside the front cover and opposite: These pages show two ways of writing down a dance. The illustration on the rear of the front cover shows the positions of dancers for the ballet "Amor" drawn by Luigi Manzotti (1838-1905). The illustration on the right shows the steps of a 17th Century dance depicted in dance notation devised by Raoul Feuillet (c.1675-1730)
p6. A sequence of 7 black and white still photographs of a moving body
p7. A sketch of strips fixed to moving leg and arm reveal rhythm underlies all human movements
p7 (far right): an athlete's and a ballerina's leap
p7 (bottom): Everyday rhythmic movements help human bodies overcome obstacles but dance movements discipline rhythm to reveal human feelings
p8, top. Prehistoric shell, black & white illustration to show that there is a rhythmic pattern to the universe from the rhythmic motion of the planets to the rhythmic pattern on the shell
p8, bottom. Black and white photo of children playing in an urban street demonstrating that the urge to dance is in us from childhood
p9, bottom left. An Indian fabric from Peru with coloured threads interwoven into a pattern. Such interweaving, becomes a work of art when it is built up into whole pieces
p9, bottom right. Written down on paper, this simple native song can clearly be shown to depend on repeated rhythmic words. All music, poetry, painting and dancing is built on patterns of notes, words, shapes or steps
p10. Black and white photograph of a running chain dance, which needs a great deal of space for its performance. It flourishes on the flat expanse of Russia's steppes
p10. Black and white photo of four men with fine physique, adapted to the tropics where tall slim bodies swiftly lose excess heat. These four men perform leaping dances and their physique is ideal for this
p11. Top. Black and white photograph of a leaping dance in Europe. Leaping dances flourish equally on Macedonian mountainsides and the North German Plain
p11. Bottom. Arctic climates encourage Eskimos to put on heat-conserving body fat. Physique and furry clothes affect the way these people dance (black and white illustration)
p12. Top. Colour photograph of Salampasu tribesmen in Central Africa. Salampasu tribesmen believe that dancing is a magic which can "bring about" events which muscle power cannot
p12. Bottom. Colour illustration of wealth Indian Rajahs two centuries ago, who only saw dancing as entertainment. Expert performers amused them and their guests
p13. Full page colour illustration showing people dancing for joy; here the picture is of a crowd dancing in Flanders. It's an excerpt from The Wedding Dance (sometimes known as The Dance Village) and is a 1566 oil-on-panel painting by the Flemish artist Pieter Bruegel the Elder
p14, top left. Labyrinth patterns on ancient Greek coins hint at the forgotten ritual steps which underlie the farandole, still danced in France today (see b&w photograph of the farandole, top right)
p14, bottom left. Black and white illustration of Sweden's "Weaving Dance" in which a man and woman run between two lines of facing couples in imitation of a shuttle thrown across a loom
p15. Top left. Black and white line drawing of a hopscotch grid. The Hops on numbered squares towards a "paradise", or goal, suggest that hopscotch, like other dancing games, was once a magic rite
p15. Top right. Black and white photograph of someone chalking out a hopscotch grid
p15. Bottom right. B&W illustration of the minuet, a dance perfected by the royal dancing masters at the Court of France. The minuet reflected courtly fashions in its elegant and dainty steps
p16. Colour illustration of courtiers amusing King and nobles at the court of Louis XIII. It shows the courtiers wearing grotesque masks and costumes to add excitement to their ballets
p17, top left. Colour photograph of witch doctors who don a "spirit" costume for their dance in the belief that they themselves become a spirit, possessed of magic powers
p17, top right. Colour photograph of carnival time in Trinidad showing a guitar player in a savage mask with a cigarette in his mouth. They are in modern fancy dress and ancient magic costume for the carnival dances
p17, bottom left. Colour photograph of different costumes that may lead to different dances. Heavy dresses and hard-soled shoes helped to create staccato Spanish steps and rhythms
p17, bottom right. Colour photo of costumes worn by dancers to help them match their steps to the freely flowing melodies in modern musical shows
Miming for Magic
p18. Top left. "Magic" rituals are sometimes used by native peoples to mark events in life. In this black and white photo, masked dancers from New Guinea initiate a boy into manhood
p18. Top right. A coming of age dance for a debutante is shown here in this black and white photograph
p18. Bottom left. Black and white illustration showing Indians performing a furious dance to pacify their god as white colonialists set about toppling the enormous stone figure face down onto the floor to lie next to ones that they have already cast down
p19. Top left - B&W photo of Maori tribesmen performing their tribal dance
p19. Top right - A Borneo headhunter
p19. Bottom right - Masai warriors dancing
p20. Left. Diagram of dancers encircling a "magic" object because they believe that power flows out from the centre outward to the circle and then returns.
p20. Top. Colour photo of present day [as of 1960] Congo tribesmen still perform their magic "rounds"
p20. Bottom left. Colour illustration of magic "dances" around objects of special power, here an Apache fire dance.
This type of magic "rounds" persists throughout the world
p21. Colour illustration showing ancient pagan rounds, which survive throughout the centuries. This 15th Century Italian painting depicts Angels in a round dance in the fields of Heaven. Today children still do a "ring of roses."
p21. Bottom. Black and white illustration of Indian "bison" dancers who imitated bison's movements in the drama of a chase. The Indians believed the dance would guarantee success in the hunt
p22. Black and white illustration and photo showing antler costumes which Stone Age sorcerers certainly wore as do modern dancers. The costumes hint at traditions unbroken throught thousands of years
p23. Top left and right - shows children learning dances. Children are important because they generally learn dances from experts and then pass them on others
p23. Bottom left. An Australian farm manager's son displays the dances he has learned by watching aborigines perform them
p23. Bottom right. Conversely, native people are learning the Western ways of life and are forgetting their heritage
From Egypt to Athens `
p24. Colour photo showing an ancient Egyptian wall pictures. In this one, dancing girls enlivened Pharaohs' leisure hours
p25. Top. Photograph of an Egyptian stone relief showing a dead pharoah (in the ship) being carried to his afterlife. Egypt's tomb and temple pictures testify to many rituals
p25. Bottom. Black and white photo of Assyrian "military musicians" to show that Egypt's civilization was not alone in organizing rhythmic sound and movement for its ends
p26. Top left. Illustration of the Sinai Peninsula and its relation to the Israel - helps demonstrate how travel in war and peace aided Egypt's dances spread to Israel
p26. Top right. Purple coloured illustration representing a modern attempt to recreate an ancient Jewish dancer. This illustration owes much to traditions of dress and dance preserved by Yemenite tribesmen, who are shown in the black and white photograph at the bottom of the page
p27, top. Purple colour illustration from the 10th Century showing King David as a 10th Century Monarch
p27, bottom. Black and white illustration of Salome, whom a 15th Century artist showed to be a 15th Century dancer. Ignorant of past dances, painters copied dances they had seen but unwittingly made them contemporary figures rather than historical
p28. Top - black and white photograph of some pottery figures dancing, perhaps round a threshing floor or altar. The great dance festivals of Greece developed from simple dances round a threshing floor or altar. Unlike Egypt, democratic Athens held theatres planned to seat spectators by the thousand. A partial illustration of such a theatre can be seen on the top right of this page
p28, bottom. Greeks danced for many reasons. To maenads, devotees of Dionysus, the god of wine, wild steps and gestures were an act of worship. The image on the bottom of the page is of Dionysus the god not only of wine, but also of wild nature, such as wild animals and is taken from the cup by the Brygos painter. Note the snakes and leopard that characterize the maenad on this cup
p29. Ancient Greece - the bird chorus or bird dance - two figures in classical Greece have dressed as bird men and are dancing to flute music played by a figure to the left. Dance dramas began as solemn, tragic rites and later comedies grew from them. Comic actors disguised themselves as birds and beasts
p29, middle. This decorative detail is from a stele and depicts a wrestling match between athletes, ca 510 BC, from the Kerameikos cemetery, Athens, Greece. Greeks thought dancing, demanding control of brain and muscles, created a balanced mind and body
p29, bottom - a marble relief of dancing warriors - a Neo-Attic work of the 1st half of the 1st Century AD, copying an Athenian relief of the 2nd half of the 4th Century BCE. The dancing warriors are muscled and toned and can be seen from the front and the back dancing with their shields directed upwards on their left arm, wearing plumed helmets
p30, top. Photograph - slightly purplish colour - of people dancing the modern Kolo
p30, bottom. Illustration of an ancient trata that gives proof of an East European dance tradition that is more than 3,000 years old
p31. Top left - Greek vase figures depicted in different positions from the same dance show that hand, arms, trunk and legs all played their part. The diagrams down the right of the page from top to bottom stress changing balance of limbs. Thin lines link each position (dotted) with the one that follows it (heavy black)
From Tibet to Tokyo
p32, top. The top picture which stretches across pages 32 and 33 shows Hindu temples, decayed with age, but which still shelter age-old Hindu dances performed as acts of worship
p32, left, black and white illustration with Eastern travel depicted on an ancient Greek vase suggesting that India's dances went from Greece to India, or India to Greece
p33. Centuries-old statuettes of Siva show the dance that "set the world in motion". A black and white photograph of a female dancer on the bottom right of page 33, shows that Hindu dances preserve both art traditions and beliefs and are unchanged certainly since Siva's statuettes were made
p34 and 35. Almost every muscle of the body plays its part in Hindu temple dances. These two pages show just five of the 4,000 mudras that a Hindu temple dancer - a devadasi - must master. Mudras are picture-gestures of the hands which tell a story without words
p36. Photograph of a Hindu Kathakali actor meditating on Krishna, whose part he plays during pre-performance make-up preparations
p37, top. Silhouttes from left to right: Kathak turning movement, Manipuri "Krishna" playing flute, bowed-leg Kathakali stance, Bharata Natya attitude
p37, bottom. Map showing distribution and dress of four Indian dance types: Kathak (North West), Manipuri (North East), Kathakali (South West), and Bharata Natya (South East)
p38, top. Religious symbols of the Buddha spread overland with missionary monks who also helped make Indian art and dancing better known
p38, bottom. A map of sea routes and trade routes shows that it was this that first carried Indian arts to the island of Ceylon. This is evident in that Kandyan dancers (shown on the right of this page) perform dances of Indian origin
p39, top left. B&W photograph of a masked Lama dance which are still performed in Tibet. These may precede even the Hindu dancing arts
p39, top right. Illustration of performers in China imitating lions. Lions don't exist in China and these performers most likely never saw one and therefore the conclusion is reached that they were taught these dances by (perhaps) Indian missionaries
p39, middle right. Photograph of a Gigaku mask from Japan. Like the Bugaku dances, these masks bear all the hallmarks of influence from India
p39, bottom right. Black and white photograph of a dancer making Hindu dance gestures as preserved by tradition, but here the location is the remote Indonesian island of Bali
p40. B&W photograph of a gymnastic, acrobatic Eastern dance providing a keep-fit pastime for those who do them and an entertainment for those who watch. This one is performed with a sword...
p41, top. Colour illustration of actor-dancers in a Kabuki play, a most popular drama of Japan. Japanese dance dramas are derived from China's opera plays
p41, bottom. Colour illustration of splendidly costumed Chinese performers re-enacting with mime and music the tales of Chinese emperors who ruled 500 years ago
Heathen or Heavenly?
p42, top. Black and white photograph of a portrait of Augustus Caesar alongside a photograph of the base of a column where the frieze depicts conquest of foreign lands; all of which brought Roma great power and wealth and leading directly to the construction of triumphal arches (photograph bottom left) and giant sports arenas where Rome's citizens celebrated victories and spent their leisure hours
p43, top left. A Roman chariot race patterned in mosaic. Chariot racing was one of the gigantic spectacles which became more popular than skilful dance or mime
p43, right. Carved relief called "Dance of the Seasons" which may have been a religious Roman rite intended to ensure a fertile seed-time or to celebrate a harvest
p44. Full page colour illustration showing Spaniards dancing at the Feast of St. Isidore two centuries ago. This dance mingled Christian worship with half-forgotten pagan ritual
p45, Top right - after a dance to purify them, hooded "devils" sit outside this Venezuelan church (colour photograph) until its priest declares that they may enter
p45, Bottom right - festival parades derive from ancient Christian dance processions. Such "giants" derive from pagan ceremonial dances even older. The colour photograph shown pictures Reuze Papa and three of the six bodyguards named Allowyn, Dagobert, Geacute, Goliath, Roland and Samson, who all wear Roman dress. They stand in front of a statue to Jean Bart
p46. Top, black and white illustration depicts "Dancing Maniacs", from over 400 years ago. Cramps caused by ergotism made the victim's limbs jerk beyond control
p46, middle. Black and white photograph of Voodoo priestess - devotees of religious cults dance hysterically as a way of worship
p46, bottom. Black and white illustration of dancing dervishes
p47, top left. Map of pilgrimate routes in 1374 where the routes became "dancing maniac" processions where pilgrims entered ergot-stricken towns (shown in brackets)
p47, top right. A black and white picture of a red figure vase depicting Maenads ("frenzied women") who have wreathed snakes around their arms in wild Dionysiac dances
p47, bottom. B&W photograph of participators in Bali's Ketchak dance, arms raised, seated cross-legged on the ground, swaying to and fro until they fall into a trance
p48-9, top. Colour illustration showing medieval nobles secure in a walled garden of court and castle, passing peaceful leisure hours
p49, top. A colour photograph of "Giselle", the famous ballet. This ballet bears a relic of the grim age of plague and war in the 16th Century in that it contains a story of the dead spirits who ensnare the living
p48-49, bottom. Part of the Danse Macabre (Dance of Death) by Pieter Brueghel the Elder (c.1562), which was inspired by the state of the world at that time - torn by plague and war
Basse Danse and Bunny Hug
p50, top. B&W illustration showing peasants at a village fair amusing themselves by wrestling, climbing greasy poles and dancing
p50, bottom left. B&W illustration of ritual pantomimes, which over time turned into social dances
p51, top left. B&W illustration of a lively peasant dance engraved by Albrech Durer in 1514
p51, top right. B&W photograph of a folk dance being performed by a man and woman
p51, bottom right. Folk dance steps found their way into court and ballroom from the countryside, creating new fashions and enlivening old ones. Shown here is a facsimile of the poster for Jullien's Celebrated Polkas. No. 1. The Original Polka. As Danced At The Soirees Du Haut-Ton In London, Paris, Vienna. Dedicated to Mr. E. Coulon by Jullien
p52. Full page in colour. Free from rules of etiquette, unrestricted by the shape of ballroom floors, lively country folk rounds (round dances) flourished outside city walls
p53, top. Colour illustration of how inside medieval castle walls, codes of chivalry and courtly love transformed leaping dances into staid and slower steps
p53, middle. Colour photo of a modern square dance, which is a country dance refined and made more intricate by dancing masters who lived 200 years ago
p53, bottom, colour illustration of dance positions: at court balls, country dances in time became as popular as minuets. In rectangular rooms, country "longways" dances like the "hey-for-three", were more easily performed than "rounds". In 1800, rounds like the allemande (above right) were still a ballroom fashion
p54, left. B&W illustration of celebrations marking an anniversary of the French Revolution. The Revolution had brought to an end 500-year-old courtly dance traditions
p54, right. B&W illustration showing the Waltz, derived from Austria's peasant landler, which swept 19th century ballrooms like a "dancing mania"
p55, bottom left, b&w illustration of the waltz
p55, in the middle of the page (vertically) - the waltz became world famous and this 19th century cartoon suggest how much it owed its fame to a Johann Strauss waltz tune - 8 small cartoon panels tell the story: 1. Inspired by the River Danube... 2. Strauss writes "The Blue Danube." 3. Everyone waltzes to its tunes... . 4. Russians. 5. Africans. 6. Laplanders. 7. Everyone visits Johan Strauss... . 8. to pay him homage
p55. right hand panel (vertically). Hundreds performed waltz, schottische and polka in enormous dance halls which replaced the private ballrooms of the past
p56. top left. Native African drummers dancing to rhythm and top right, the front cover of the Jig Walk Charleston written by "Jo" Trent and composed by Duke Ellington (published by Francis, Day & Hunter)
p56, middle, a simple flow diagram showing the different types of music to come out of Africa; and separately Europe
p56, bottom, black and white photograph of plantation workers dancing and playing music
p57, b&w photograph of a jazz band in the early 1900s apparently all playing saxophone
p58, a montage of six illustrations and photos (all b&w) showing the spreading and mixing of dances across the world: Indian gestures appear in a Spanish dance (middle right); music from Spain and rhythm from Africa (below right) reached America through settlement and slavery; Afro Americans learned the European waltz (middle left); white Americans dance to music inspired by African rhythms: two examples here being: 1) "What A Man" (sheet music front cover)- a fox trot song written and composed by Walter Donaldson and Ralph Williams, published by Francis, Day & Hunter Limited in 1926; 2) "Rose of the Rio-Grande. An American Love Song" (sheet music front cover). Words by Edgar Leslie; Music by Harry Warren and Ross Gorman, published by Francis, Day and Hunter in 1922
p59, right. An African mask is shown above, which influenced and inspired the elongated portraits such as the one on the bottom right
Banquets and Ballet
p60. top. In Medieval Europe, the acrobatic dancers who performed at nobles' castle banquets also entertained the commoners at country fairs
p61, bottom left. 17th Century engravings show Italy's commedia dell'arte: the bands of miming actor-dancers who performed in city squares
p61, right. B&W photo of circus acrobats, whose history may be traced to Egypt's dancing entertainers, inspired this "aerial" ballet of the present day
p62, top. B&W illustration of a royal procession, which here welcomed an Italian prince to Florence. It foreshadowed the court displays which led to ballet
p62, left, middle. Each pageant was a pattern made up of many performers. This illustration shows the pattern - 6 cells of multiple performers can be seen here with the patterns they are making
p62, bottom left. Black and white illustration - each performer's splendid tunic was paid for by a prince
p63, top. Staggering photograph of a gym display put on by a 8,000 people for a modern [1960] Czechoslovak gym display that is reminiscent of a court display on a gigantic scale
p63, bottom right. B&W illustration of "The Liberation of Tirreno", performed and drawn in 17th Century Florence. The picture shows a court ballet as the spectators must have seen it
p64, top left. Picture (in green ink...) of Louis XIV, pictured in the ballet costume of the Sun. The context is that ballet grew up at Versailles, thanks to the patronage and dancing of Louis XIV
p64-65, top. B&W photo of Versailles' spacious "Galerie des Glaces", which is adorned with priceless paintings and which reflects the leisured appearance of Louis XIV's court
p65. top right, illustration (in green ink...) Ballet went from court ballroom (shown here) to theatre, where audiences, seated below the stage, clearly saw each dancer's separate movements
p65, bottom right. Diagram of the complex step-pattern of the bourrée, one of several courtly social dances, which grew too hard for all but experts to perform
p66, top right. Illustration shows part of an example of Feuillet's ballet shorthand, which shows a straight line marking the dancer's path around the room. Bars which cut the dancer's path correspond to bars of music. Letters mark the steps and notes performed together
p66-67, bottom of pages, 5 black and white photographs which show the five positions of legs and arms. The modern turn out of feet (black) gives better balance and mobility than old (terra cotta)
p68, top. Black and white photograph of 19th century costumes giving grace and freedom of movement
p68, bottom. Illustration (in green ink...) of an ornate 18th century costume, which was just not practical and restrained a dancer's steps
p69, top left. Beautiful illustration of Marie Annee de Cupis de Camargo (1710-1770) dancing in a woodland clearing with musicians to the rear left and to the right. She shortened her dress to suit her lively style of dance and helped create ballet as we know it
p69, top right. Illustration in b&w and green of Marie Taglioni (1804-1884) who gained fame playing fairy roles
p69, middle right. Illustration (in green) of Fanny Elssler (1810-1884), who became Taglioni's greatest rival
p69, bottom right. Partial music score and partial plan of dance steps, which is called Zorn's dance shorthand. Here it is for the lively dance of the cachuca (made famous by Elssler) and its aim is to show movements from the side
p70, left. Nine portraits of teachers in unbroken line from Beauchamp to the present day, all of whom created classical ballet. In order from top: Beauchamp, Louis Pécour (1655-1729), Louis Dupré (1697-1774), Jean Georges Noverre (1727-1810), Dauberval (1742-1806), Carlo Blasis (1797-1878), Giovanni Lepri (portrait about 1857), Enrico Cecchetti (1850-1928), and Ninette de Valois (1898-8th March 2001 - she died at age 102, a long time after this book was published)
p70. Top. By 1890, all classic ballet steps had been created. Thus Stepanov, a Russian dancer, could devise this dance shorthand. Its symbols, learned like notes of music, stood for classic ballet movements. The upper example shows grands battements, lower shows pas jetés
p70, bottom, right. Bored by ballerinas brilliantly performing their classic steps, 19th century cartoonists compared their whirlings with the spinning of a wooden top. This cartoon is called 'Apocalypse du Ballet. Dessin de Grandville'.
p71, middle top and bottom. Bored by classic ballet and inspired by Greek sculpture (top), Isadora Duncan (bottom) believed that we should dance as feelings prompt us. The vertical slide show on the right of page 70 shows a dance in this style, prompted by feelings
p72. Top left. B&W caricature of a theatre-box party by Cocteau who provided themes for several "Ballets Russes". It shows the impresario Diaghilev on the right
p72, top right. B&W photo from 1915 showing members of Diaghilev's team. Left to right is Massine (dancer-choreographer), Goncharova (designer), Larionov (designer-producer), Stavinsky the composer and Bakst (designer)
A Ballet is Born
p73, top. Colour illustration of Leon Bakst's designs for "Schéhérazade, which brought vivid Eastern hues to Western ballet, where dim forest scenery had long prevailed
p73, bottom left. Colour photograph of Nijinsky's "l'Apres Midi d'un Faune", which startled ballet fans with its turned-in steps, strange costumes and a male dancer in the lead
p73, bottom right. Colour photograph: On points, like a European "sylphide," but in brilliant scarlet costume, a ballerina plays the "firebird" of a Russian legend
p74. A photograph of a ballerina in the top left corner is accompanied by grids and diagrams entitled thus: Built up on a three-line staff that represents left, middle, right of a human body, Labanotation symbols depict its balance and each position of its legs, arms, shoulders, chest and head. Added symbols could record individual position of each finger.
With arms outstretched, a standing human body occupies a square. The Benesh system shows positions of a body's parts through symbols placed inside a square where horizontal lines mean body levels
p75. Top right: The Benesh system can be used as ballet shorthand in a grand jeté leap, movement lines show path of hands and feet
p75, bottom right. Invented by Rudolf Laban and developed by New York's Dance Notation Bureau, Labanotation may be used for many purposes. Here it records a mid-air, forward somersault
p76, top left. Colour photograph of a woman ballerina to illustrate that daily practice and supple limbs combine to create graceful movements of the ballerina as we see her on the stage
p76, bottom left: Colour photograph of a male ballet dancer in mid-leap to illustrate that although males' limbs are less supple than a woman's, they are more powerful and can execute virile leaps which are as equally graceful as a ballerina's
p77, right. Degas' bronze statuette (pictured in this colour photograph) depicts a would-be ballerina who started training at an early stage. Years of constant practice lie behind the seeming ease with which a ballet dancer smoothly moves across a stage. For she must master every muscle in her body as a concert pianist must command control of every note upon the keyboard
p77, bottom left. Colour photograph showing feminine suppleness and masculine strength combining perfectly in scenes such as that pictured, taken from the famous "Swan Lake" ballet
p78, left hand vertical panel. B&W illustrations and photos showing a grand jeté from the 17th Century, compared to a grand jeté from a ballet in the late 1950s. Underneath these pictures, is a comparison of the Cabriol Leap from classic ballet to a free leap in a modern musical. At the bottom is a black and white photo of modern 20th Century ballet dancers whose experiments have created fresh, unnamed, freer movements compared to the classic ballet's recognized steps from the 17th Century
p79. Four black and white photographs showing "still" freezes of particular ballet steps. The steps are top right: grand battement and bottom right arabesque. The two photos on the left are multiple exposures and show that both positions are but moments in a chain of separate movements which flow smoothly into one another
p80-81. Large colour photograph of 20th Century dancers transformed into the clowning, miming actor-dancers of 17th Century Italian commedia dell'arte by costumes
p81, top right. Subtle additions to the ballet dancer's basic costume can suggest the character he represents: this colour photograph shows the famous "Spectre de la Rose"
p81, middle right. Colour photo - in every country, costume plays a part in dance and drama. A giant costume for several people creates the Chinese carnival dragon shown here
p81, bottom right. Colour photo of scenery that helps to tell a story or create a mood. Here it reflects the rhythms of "Symphonic Variations," ballet built around music
p82. Top left. B&W illustration of an elaborately costumed dancing master in Louis XIV's age of stately ballet. Top middle: Wilis pursue their human victim in "Giselle," romantic ballet of a century ago. Top right: In 1900 modern industry inspired the spectacle shown on this b&w photograph where ballerinas on points are brandishing electric light bulbs
p83. Top. Amazing & atmospheric photo of experiments in modern dance where the rules of classic ballet are cast off. To a drum beat (on an African drum), two dancers are seen free leaping in a drama set without any scenery in this black and white photograph
p83. Bottom. B&W photograph of dancers of the "Ballets Jooss," in attitudes and costumes never seen in any classic ballet, mimicking heads of state in a conference
Mambo and Musical
p84. Top left, from the age when troubadours and minnesingers (pictured here) sang the praises of their lady and behaved according to the rules of etiquette laid down by "courtly love," nobles lived and danced without the freedom of a peasant. Top right - though ways of life had changed a century ago, nobles still always dressed and danced according to the class in which they lived
p85, right and bottom left. Things have changed of course in modern times and the way that people dress, behave and dance now no longer reflects the "class" they live in. The man in the top hat, white tie and tails here is of course Fred Astaire. He could be a duke, or cab driver equally. The square dance group in the bottom left picture perhaps includes office juniors and millionnaires alike, enjoying leisure hours in check shirts and jeans, the clothes that only peasant classes wore the previous century
p86. left, vertical b&w photograph showing a crowded dance hall with a band on stage in the near distance. Such a venue may provide the only place where teenage friends can meet and enjoy themselves
p86-7, middle, b&w cartoon of 'Little Girl in Tokyo' sees Russian ballet in American movie
p86-7, bottom, b&w photograph of Chinese May Day celebrations where crowds are imitating the films they have seen and learn the social dances of distant nations. Here they are dancing the European waltz in Peking's city streets
p88, top left, colour illustration of a medieval strolling entertainer who performed with little more than juggler's cups and ball
p88, top right - artificial lighting and other scientific "props" enhance a modern dance performance
p88, bottom left, b&w photograph of a woman high kicking in modern dance. This should be compared to the colour illustration of the "Can-Can" in 1900. The point here is that though fashions may change, the basic movements of a dancer's body remain unaltered
p89, right. An illustration and photograph of modern ice stadium architecture and facilities, which allow skaters to dance on ice and perform in spectacular shows, invent new steps and adapt social dances for a different "surface"
p90. Full page, colour, of "West Side Story", revealing modern city life in music, drama, dance and scenery, combined as in the past in Athens and Versailles
p91, right, b&w photograph, dances of the age of Greece became forgotten. Yet magic dances, older by far, are still performed today. Dance does not depend on modern or contemporary village, town or city life and will never disappear
Index



History of Dance


How to Become a Good Dancer


How to Start in Ballet


History of Ballet


Greek and Roman Dance


Gigaku Masks


The History of The Waltz


Dancing at Court


Peasant Dances


Hindu Dancing


Dancing in Movies

 



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